Nairobi News

Hardcore gangsters have taken over a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city, forcing home owners to abandon their mansions and rent houses in safer locations.

Mr Isaac Parashina is one such homeowner. In just five months, the gangsters have attacked him three times, forcing him to abandon his newly built three bedroom mansion in the Bondeni area of Ngong and rent a house in the relatively safer Ongata Rongai.

In the latest attack two weeks ago, a gang of five broke into his home after shooting the night guard.

“The guard narrowly escaped death; they shot him at the chin and thought he had died,” a neighbour recounted, requesting not to be named for fear of attracting reprisals from the gangsters.

“The gangsters stole assorted household goods including mobile phones, cash and electronics during the attack,” said the neighbour.

Late comers

“The police arrived late, long after the gangsters had terrorised us. In this place, neighbours hardly come to the rescue of one of their own whenever such attacks happen,” the man said.

After attacking Mr Parashina, the gang went to another home about 200 metres away and defiled a 12-year-old girl as her parents watched in horror. They left after robbing the family of household goods.

Days earlier, another resident had been carjacked as he drove home at around 9 pm.

The carjackers used his phone to ask his relatives to send money to him via M-pesa failure to which they would harm him, the man said.

Once they had collected a substantial amount and transferred it to their M-pesa accounts, they dumped him in Ongata Rongai. His vehicle was later recovered in Kiserian.

“It is a well organised gang. I once encountered them, they all wore police uniforms and they seem to know this area very well,” he added. Mzee Paraset Sindeu, who has lived in the area all his life, said the gang has poisoned more than ten dogs in various homes before committing the robberies.

A resident, only identified as Mama Wanjiru said her two dogs were killed by the gangsters before her home was attacked.

She told of her next door neighbour who has been attacked more than six times since moving to the area. In the latest robbery, they tied the children using neck ties in one room, ransacked the house before using the family car to ferry away the stolen goods.

Abandoned car

The vehicle was found abandoned in Ongata Rongai two days later.

Last year, veteran politician Abuya Abuya was attacked and robbed of his vehicle and other valuables in the same area. To date, the vehicle has not been recovered.

In the latest attack on Sunday night, a bodaboda rider was attacked and killed by gangsters who also stole his motorcycle.

A few hours earlier, a gang had attacked a home in the area and seriously injured one person before stealing household goods.

The attack prompted officers from the Ngong police station four kilometres away to swing into action, gunning down the gang’s suspected ringleader.

The officers raided the suspect’s shanty in Ngong’s Mathare slums and shot him dead.

According to police reports, the suspect only known as Mbugua, a father of two, shot at the police before being gunned down. His wife was seriously injured and rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital where she is receiving treatment.

Residents blamed police officers for failing to deal with the insecurity in the area.

Area chief Joseph Lempeiyan, however, said police had intensified patrols and plans were underway to open a new police post.

Ngong OCPD Farah Mohammed said security had been beefed up in Bondeni.

“We have increased security patrols in Bondeni and that is why crime has drastically reduced,” he stated.